Written Answers Thursday 28 October 2010

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that any penalties incurred by claimants resulting from an over declaration of eligible land under the Single Farm Payment and Less Favoured Area Support schemes are fair and proportionate.

Richard Lochhead: Any reductions in the area claimed, as a result of declaring land over and above what would otherwise be considered as eligible are calculated on the basis of a physical measurement using modern mapping and measurement  technologies. Each calculation of land area is also informed by an assessment of eligibility by a professional trained agricultural  officer. This methodology ensures that the deduction is reasonable. With the issue of proportionality, the Scottish Government’s Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate does not have any discretion to vary the level of penalties as these are set by the European Commission. The penalty regime, however, differentiates between over declarations committed intentionally, for which the level of penalty is severe, and those committed through oversight where the level of penalty varies according to the scale of the over claim and the eligible land found.

Agriculture

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has compared the penalty regimes associated with an over declaration of eligible land under the Single Farm Payment and Less Favoured Area Support schemes and equivalent agricultural schemes in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland, (e) the Republic of Ireland and (f) other European Union  member states and, if so, what the results were and, if not, whether it would consider undertaking such an exercise.

Richard Lochhead: No comparison of penalty regimes associated with declaring land over and above what would otherwise be considered as eligible has been undertaken. Since the penalty regime is set in European legislation and, therefore, applicable to all member states, such a comparison would not be worthwhile.

Agriculture

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many inquiries each Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate (SGRPID) office has received regarding Single Farm Payment and Less Favoured Area Support schemes land eligibility since January 2010 and how these figures compare with the number of inquiries received over the same period in 2009.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government’s Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate (SGRPID) receives numerous enquiries from its client group of c.21,000 farmers, and crofters. It does not keep, however, records of those enquiries as a matter of routine. It is not possible, therefore, to undertake the analysis required in order to answer this question.

Agriculture

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many claimants it expects to be affected by penalties arising from an over declaration of eligible land under the Single Farm Payment and Less Favoured Area Support schemes in 2010-11.

Richard Lochhead: The inspection cycle for 2010-11 is underway but not complete so it is not possible to answer the question as asked. The analysis of the 2009-10 inspection cycle shows the following:

  Number of inspections undertaken: 1,107;

  Number penalised in penalty band up to 3%: 178;

  Number penalised in penalty band three to 50%: 53;

  Number penalised in penalty band +50%: 6.

Agriculture

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much support it expects to be withheld from claimants in 2010-11  as a result of penalties arising from an over declaration of eligible land under the Single Farm Payment and Less Favoured Area Support schemes.

Richard Lochhead: The inspection cycle for 2010-11 is underway but not complete and the settlement of claims has not begun,  so it is not possible to answer the question as asked.

Agriculture

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to mitigate the impact of any penalties incurred  by claimants as a result of an over declaration of eligible land under the Single Farm Payment and Less Favoured Area Support schemes.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government’s Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate (SGRPID) does not have any discretion to vary the level of penalties. Only the EC can alter the penalty regime by changing its legislative base. SGRPID’s approach to "mitigation", therefore, is to help farmers and crofters to claim only land that is eligible for support and, thus, avoid penalties. It has done so by setting out what constitute eligible land in guidance booklets supporting its subsidy schemes, by holding around 20 public meetings, in cooperation with the National Farmers Union of Scotland, that were attended by over 2,000 farmers to hear how they could safeguard their CAP payments and by issuing a personal letter to farmers detailing how they could avail themselves of provisions to amend applications forms to remove ineligible land and avoid penalties.

Agriculture

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with stakeholders regarding the penalty regime associated with an over declaration of eligible land under the Single Farm Payment and Less Favoured Area Support schemes.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government’s Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate (SGRPID) has worked with the National Farmers Union of Scotland (NFUS), and taken its advice, on how best to communicate with farmers and crofters on how they can avoid penalties by claiming only land that meets eligibility requirements. A number of meetings were held between senior officials, NFUS’ office bearers, and senior official with the aim of minimising any loss of support due to over declaration penalties. At a public level, SGRPID and NFUS worked together to put this objective into practice. Firstly, a series of public meetings to remind farmers about their obligations to claim only eligible land, secondly, SGRPID’s Chief Agricultural Officer provided articles for The Scottish Farmer on the same themes and thirdly, after consultation with NFUS, SGRPID issued a personal letter to all farmers likely to be involved with either the Single Farm Payment Scheme and / or the Less-Favoured Area Support Scheme, containing advice on how to avoid penalties.

Agriculture

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that claimants who have incurred penalties resulting from an over declaration of eligible land under the Single Farm Payment and Less Favoured Area Support schemes have an opportunity to appeal.

Richard Lochhead: All farmers and crofters have a fundamental right of appeal against the recovery, reduction, or refusal of subsidy for whatever reason. This right is provided by The Rural Payments (Appeals) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 (Scottish Statutory Instrument 2009/376, 20 November 2009). Those affected are advised of this right in the letters issued by Scottish Government’s Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate advising them of any revisions to claimed eligible areas.

Agriculture

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to support farmers who wish to make the transition to organic production.

Richard Lochhead: Funding for farmers who wish to convert to organic farming, or maintain their organic status is available under the SRDP Rural Priorities scheme. The Scottish Government also supports the provision of advice and guidance on organics and food marketing through the Scottish Agricultural College.

Antisocial Behaviour

James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place since May 2007 between officials, police and community groups regarding giving community councils a greater role in tackling antisocial behaviour.

James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place since May 2007 between officials, police and community groups regarding giving community councils a greater role in applying for antisocial behaviour orders.

Fergus Ewing: The review of national antisocial behaviour policy, Promoting Positive Outcomes , was published in March last year and can be found on the Scottish Government’s website at www.scotland.gov.uk .

  The idea of community involvement in applying sanctions was examined during this review. Volume 2: Evidence provides detail of the research, analysis and consultation that took place, including interviews with Scottish police forces, local authorities, and focus groups with the public at five locations across Scotland. The clear message from our most hard-pressed communities was that they didn’t want to be involved in applying ASBOs or other enforcement measures because they saw this as the role of professionals and were fearful of retribution.

  Recent discussions with national and local partners including the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), the Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland (ACPOS), the Scottish Community Safety Network (SCSN), the Antisocial Behaviour Officers’ Forum (ASBOF) and the Antisocial Behaviour Lawyers’ Forum (ASBLF) has confirmed these bodies continue to support our approach to tackling antisocial behaviour.

  Community Councils can of course approach the local authority and request that measures to tackle antisocial behaviour are considered. We keep such matters under review and we welcome suggestions on measures which can be taken to make Scotland’s communities safer and stronger places for all.

Biodiversity

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how its assessment of Scotland’s performance in meeting the 2010 target of halting the loss of biodiversity will inform decisions on where further effort and investment are needed in order to meet the international targets set for 2020.

Roseanna Cunningham: We are working with Scottish Natural Heritage and other partners in the Scottish Biodiversity Forum on our assessment of Scotland’s performance in meeting the EU 2010 target of halting the loss of biodiversity, and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity 2010 target of achieving a significant reduction in the rate of biodiversity loss. We shall continue to work with these partners to determine priorities for effort to meet targets for 2020.

Cancer

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what aftercare treatment is available for breast cancer patients.

Nicola Sturgeon: Depending on the type of treatment received, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or a combination of these,  a patient will be supported by oncologists, clinical nurse specialists, surgical teams or other members of the multi-disciplinary  team (physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists) according to their individual need(s). After  discharge from hospital, patients can still have access to breast care nurses, can be referred back to clinic and can also access community based care via their GP.

  Aftercare and support to patients is also provided by a by a number of breast cancer charities.

Cancer

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is given to NHS boards regarding the provision of support services for patients who have undergone treatment for breast cancer.

Nicola Sturgeon: SIGN guidelines and NHS Quality Improvement Scotland Standards for Breast Cancer, include guidance and standards on supportive care for patients with breast cancer.

  In addition to this, work is underway to inform health boards of the newly established national information and support service, NHS inform, in which a dedicated cancer zone will provide quality assured cancer information for patients, carers and families. This will also include access to cancer support groups for breast cancer patients and information on emotional and financial support.

  All NHS boards work within multidisciplinary teams (MDTs). MDTs are informed by the development in cancer strategies over the past 10 to 15 years and more recently by the recommendations within Better Cancer Care, an Action Plan, (2008) in which supportive care comprising the management of information, communication, access to the voluntary sector is integral to the overall health and well being of cancer patients, including breast cancer.

  Health boards also provide Clinical Nurse Specialists which breast cancer patients will have access to. Each Clinical Nurse Specialist will be aware of the support available from both other health service based organisations and the voluntary sector, for example, Breast Cancer Care, Macmillan Cancer Support, Maggie’s centres and local support services and how these can be accessed. The Clinical Nurse Specialist will be able to provide advice relevant to the individual needs.

Cancer

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all cancer patients are routinely scanned for secondary cancer.

Nicola Sturgeon: Cancer patients are not routinely scanned for secondary (metastatic) disease.

  At the point of initial diagnosis, clinicians undertake diagnostic tests to ascertain the spread of the disease, the result of which influence both the treatment pathway for the individual patients and the care offered post treatment.

  The use of X-rays and CT scans are subject to UK-wide legislation, including the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations IR(ME)R 2000, which includes a specific requirement that each individual exposure must be justified by a practitioner, taking  account of the health risks associated with exposure of the patient to ionising radiation. It is therefore for the practitioner to determine which diagnostic procedures are appropriate for each individual cancer patient.

Cancer

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are used to determine which patients are routinely scanned for secondary cancer.

Nicola Sturgeon: Patients are not routinely scanned for secondary cancer, however, clinicians may decide to undertake further investigative tests if individuals are displaying symptoms that suggest their disease has metastasised.

Cancer

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what type of cancer patients are considered as being at a high-risk for developing secondary cancer.

Nicola Sturgeon: Numerous factors, for example, stage of disease at initial presentation, other co-morbidities, lifestyle factors and tumour biology, can all influence the likelihood of patients developing secondary cancer. Therefore, this level of risk cannot be linked specifically to the type of cancer initially diagnosed.

Cancer

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for which types of cancer patients are routinely screened for secondary cancers.

Nicola Sturgeon: Irrespective of initial cancer type, no patients are routinely screened for secondary cancers.

  The national screening programmes for cancers (breast, bowel and cervical) are set up to identify pre-cancers and early cancers. Following identification of any cancer, individuals will follow care pathways determined by their test results and this pathway may identify either metastases or secondary cancer. An appropriate investigation may be ordered by the clinician caring for the patient. This decision will be based on clinical judgement and based on the individual’s circumstances, response to initial treatment and any symptoms a patient may present with.

Cancer

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether follow-up checks are carried out for breast cancer patients.

Nicola Sturgeon: Breast cancer patients who have undergone surgery as their primary treatment are subject to clinical follow up  in the form of post operation checks and the provision of advice; this type of support is also from oncologists following radiotherapy  or chemotherapy, where this is deemed the most appropriate treatment for an individual.

  In addition to this, patients are invited, when they become eligible, to participate in the national breast screening programme that is available to women between the ages 50 and 70.

Cancer

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines there are for the identification of patients who are at high risk of secondary cancer.

Nicola Sturgeon: No specific guidelines exist regarding the identification of patients who are at a high risk of developing secondary cancer however, SIGN guidelines ( http://www.sign.ac.uk/index.html ) exist in relation to many specific cancer types. These cover all aspects of a patients care, for example, from initial referral, diagnosis, investigations, appropriate treatments for specific disease  types, and follow up care, with the aim of improving outcomes for all cancer patients.

Cancer

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to ensure that GPs are suitably equipped to diagnose secondary cancer in patients who formerly had breast cancer but are no longer receiving treatment.

Nicola Sturgeon: GPs are trained to gather and interpret information from their patient based on history, physical examination and investigations relevant to the presenting problem. They are expected to be familiar with how patients present in the early stages of illness, and also in the management of long-term conditions, including shared care with other specialists which includes conditions like cancer. They should be aware of worrying symptoms, and recognise conditions or symptoms which may be serious and intervene urgently when required.

  Local and national guidelines (for example, SIGN Guidelines), local clinical pathways and best practice statements such as those developed by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland are also available to help support GPs in their work. It is also important to make the relevant information available to health care professionals at the time a patient presents with relevant history, signs and symptoms. This can be achieved, for example, through prompts on the computer screen or advice from specialists following haematological and biochemical investigations for non-specific symptoms.

  The annual appraisal process helps GPs to indentify their learning needs to address the healthcare needs of their patients and their carers, which they can address through Continuing Professional Development initiatives. GPs are supported by health boards, post graduate deaneries, NHS Education for Scotland and others, to undertake continuing professional development, so that they may acquire the required up to date knowledge and skills. The Royal College of GPs Scotland also facilitates education and training on various topics. Most health boards in Scotland also resource a "Protected Learning Time" initiative. This helps the practices in a locality to close the practice for half day a month so that all practice team members can then undertake training jointly or separately  as planned and appropriate, organised by the health boards and their Community Health Partnerships. GPs also access information through other means and in a variety of formats, for example, GP magazines (such as GP and Pulse), BMJ Learning, Doctors.net and other medical journals.

Cancer

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the incidence of secondary cancer has been in (a) Scotland and (b) NHS Lanarkshire in each year since 2000, also broken down by type of original cancer.

Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not routinely collected. Scotland is in a similar position to many other countries in that the Scottish Cancer Registry collects information on primary tumours or secondary tumours only when the origin of the primary tumour is unknown. Collecting complete information on all instances of secondary cancer would require active and regular follow-up of every patient living with cancer, a population which is growing in size every year.

  Data within linked acute hospital discharge (SMR01) records and death records does provide some information regarding secondary tumours. However, data accuracy relies on a number of factors such as the accuracy and completeness of coding of metastatic  disease on hospital discharge and death records; the acknowledgement that figures do not include patients diagnosed and managed with secondary cancer entirely in an outpatient setting (centrally held outpatient records do not record diagnosis) and an awareness  that among patients with multiple primary cancers, it may not be clear from which anatomical site their secondary cancer has  originated.

Community Safety

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding will be allocated to the safer streets projects  in North Ayrshire in December 2010.

Fergus Ewing: I announced on 18 August 2010 that safer streets funding of £400,000 will be made available to support community safety partnerships between November 2010 and March 2011. This brings our investment in safer streets since 2007 to £3.06 million.

  As in previous years, the funding is to be divided between all 32 local authorities to fund community safety initiatives including high visibility police patrols in "hot spot" areas, dedicated support for licensed premises, targeting of street drinkers, enhanced CCTV and late night taxi marshals.

  I have authorised funding for North Ayrshire of £14,000 for this campaign. This allocation is based on average group 1 crime figures for the relevant local authority over the period 2006-09.

Deer (Scotland) Act 1996

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-35939 by Roseanna  Cunningham on 14 September 2010, what the average costs are of implementing control orders (a) per section 7 agreement  and (b) per site of special scientific interest or special area of conservation-designated feature over the last five years.

Roseanna Cunningham: The costs of implementing control agreements issued under section 7 of the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996  are set out in the following table. The areas of individual sites vary considerably with control agreements extending over areas from approximately 2,500 hectares to 80,000 hectares. Therefore, so as to provide an average cost we have provided the cost per hectare.

  

 
(a) Total Cost for Per Hectare for Section 7 Sites (£)
(b) Total per Hectare for Joint Working Sites (Excluding Section 7 sites) (£)


2006
2.06
3.10


2007
2.79
1.23


2008
4.10
1.06


2009
3.28
0.94


2010
0.94
2.05

Deer (Scotland) Act 1996

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-35939 by Roseanna  Cunningham on 14 September 2010, how the figures for Deer Commission for Scotland staff costs were calculated.

Roseanna Cunningham: The figures for the Deer Commission for Scotland staff costs were calculated using the 2009-10 baseline. Details are as follows and include costs for the joint working programme, a process that aims to secure favourable conservation  status on designated sites some of which may progress into section 7 agreements in the future:

  

Grade
No. of staff:
% time Joint Working
% TimeSection 7
Cost Joint Working
Cost Section 7
Total


 
 
 
 
£
£
£


D
6
30
30
74,664.13
74,664.13 
149,328.26


C
1
30
30
10,165.39
10,165.39 
20,330.78


C
2
12.5
12.5
8,471.16
8,471.16 
16,942.31


F
1
16.5
16.5
11,158.70
11,158.70 
22,317.41


 
 
 
 
104,459.38
104,459.38 
208,918.75



  

  

Cost per Grade TakenUsing the 2009-10 Figures (£)
 
 


C
D
F


33,884.63
41,480.07
67,628.50

Deer (Scotland) Act 1996

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the Deer Commission for Scotland budget in each of the last five years was spent on delivering and implementing section 7 agreements under the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996.

Roseanna Cunningham: The following table details the proportion of Deer Commission for Scotland (DCS) budget that was spent in each of the last five years on delivering and implementing section 7 agreements. The table also includes estimates of the budget that was spent on joint working sites which aims to secure favourable conditions of sites not within a section 7 agreement.

  

 
Total DCS Budget  (£)
% DCS Budget Associated with Section 7 Control Agreements
% DCS Budget Associated with Joint Working sites (excludes Section 7)
% DCS Budget Associated with Both Section 7 and Joint Working Sites


2006
 1,788,000.00 
 8.7
10.4
19.1


2007
 1,687,000.00 
12.5
15.2
27.7


2008
 1,864,000.00 
16.6
14.7
31.3


2009
 1,767,000.00 
14.4
13.6
28.0


2010
 1,809,000.00 
11.4
12.9
24.3

Deer (Scotland) Act 1996

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-35939 by Roseanna  Cunningham on 14 September 2010, whether the figures supplied for the Deer Commission for Scotland costs include the  staff time involved in the development of section 7 agreements with individual landowners for scoping work and meetings with landowners prior to signing the section 7 control agreements under the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 and whether the relevant  agencies have procedures in place to allow allocation of staff time costs to individual section 7 projects.

Roseanna Cunningham: The figures for staff costs supplied in the answer to question S3W-35939 are based on an estimate of staff time devoted to developing and implementing control agreements under section 7 of the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996. Staff involved in the joint working programme seek to deliver action through negotiation and it is not always necessary to proceed to a formal control agreement. The work recording system operated by the Deer Commission for Scotland, recorded staff time spent on delivering the joint working programme as a whole, but was not sufficiently detailed to record the time spent by staff against individual section 7 control agreements.

Deer (Scotland) Act 1996

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what staff and other costs were incurred by (a) Scottish Natural Heritage, (b) Forestry Commission Scotland and (c) Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate staff in developing and implementing section 7 control orders under the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 in each of the last five years.

Roseanna Cunningham: The following table sets out estimates for the staff and other costs associated with Section 7 control agreements.

  

Year
(a) Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) (£)
(b) Forestry Commission Scotland (£)
(c) Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate (£)


2006
5,000
15,130
Nil


2007
8,000
15,130
Nil


2008
10,700
15,130
Nil


2009
13,000
15,130
Nil


2010
14,000
15,130
Nil



  The figures for SNH staff time are estimates based on work recording. SNH staff record time on the wider designated sites target of which deer impacts is only a part.

Deer (Scotland) Act 1996

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-35939 by Roseanna Cunningham on 14 September 2010, what its position is on the cost and efficiency of the system of delivering sustainable deer management.

Roseanna Cunningham: A voluntary approach to engagement with deer managers will generally represent the most effective and efficient means to deliver sustainable deer management. The Scottish Government recognises however that on occasion Scottish Natural Heritage may need to intervene with advice and support or regulation through implementing Section 7 agreements or even Section 8 control schemes. Clearly where this is required there will be a resource implication. That is why we have sought to ensure in the Wildlife and Natural Environment Bill that these powers can deliver more effective and timely means of intervention. If we were to move to a system of statutory deer management it is our assessment that the resource requirement would be much higher.

Fire Service

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will conclude its review of the long-term arrangement for maintenance of resilience equipment operated by the Scottish Fire Service

Fergus Ewing: A business case to maintain current resilience capabilities and equipment to deal with chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear incidents, on a multi agency basis, is being finalised. This involved discussions with all three emergency services including FRS and will be considered as part of spending review discussions. This forms part of the Scottish Government’s ongoing work to help ensure Scotland continues to be as resilient as possible.

Fisheries

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when the European Fisheries Fund programme awards due to be announced in September 2010 are to be announced.

Richard Lochhead: The European Fisheries Fund awards were announced on 24 October 2010.

Fuel Poverty

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-36525 by Alex Neil on 4 October 2010, whether it has investigated the reason for the average time from referral to Stage Four of the installation of Energy Assistance Package measures in Shetland being 123% higher than the national average and 58% higher than the local authority with the next highest average.

Alex Neil: Officials regularly monitor delivery times and discuss issues with the managing agent.

  Reasons for the higher average delivery time in Shetland for the 10 installations to the end of August 2010, include electrical load checks or load upgrades by a third party supplier, which adds on average 38 days to every installation. Connections to the district heating system by a third party are similarly affected, adding on average 28 days.

Fuel Poverty

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-36525 by Alex Neil on 4 October 2010, whether it is considering measures to reduce the average time from referral to Stage Four of the installation of Energy Assistance Package measures in Shetland closer to the national average.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government is working with Scottish Gas, which has been appointed as the Stage Four Managing Agent under a new contract that sets demanding performance criteria that link payments to performance on a regional basis, including a target of 60 days from referral to completion. They are taking the following steps to improve their performance and reduce installation timescales:

  
moving to a single survey, new software, and mobile devices which together will reduce referral to installation times by up to 25 days;
continuing to negotiate with third party suppliers to reduce timescales for electrical load checks and supply upgrades.


  Additionally, to improve their performance in Shetland, Scottish Gas:

  
has been meeting all locally based, appropriately qualified, installers to secure locally based labour to deliver the installations; to date they have appointed three locally based contractors and are in negotiations with another one;
is currently discussing with local installers to provide training to enhance their skills to allow them to deliver a wider range of measures; and
has secured agreements with other contractors to undertake installations when installation requirements exceed the local capacity.

Further and Higher Education

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money was allocated for childcare for full-time students in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010.

Keith Brown: The further educationchildcare allocations for 2009 and 2010 were:

  Academic Year 2009-10: £8,602,703Academic Year 2010-11: £8,614,747Part-time further education students are also able to access their college’s childcare funds.The higher education childcare allocations for 2009 and 2010 were:Academic Year 2009-10: £4,681,267Academic Year 2010-11: £6,681,270

  An additional £2 million had been allocated to highereducation childcare for 2010-11 in response to the supporting a smarter Scotland consultation.

General Practitioners

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many generalist doctors were trained in (a) 2006-07, (b) 2007-08, (c) 2008-09 and (d) 2009-10.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the number of general practitioners (GPs) that have gained Completed Certificate of Training (CCT) in each of the last four years is as detailed in the following table:

  

Trained GPs
2006
2007
 2008
2009


Number
241
268
 248
249



  Source: NHS Education for Scotland.

General Practitioners

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many generalist doctors were practising in (a) 2006-07, (b) 2007-08, (c) 2008-09 and (d) 2009-10.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the number of general practitioners (GPs) as at 30 November of each year is published by NHS National Services Scotland, Information Services Division (ISD) and is available on the ISD website under "Number (head count) of  GPs in post by designation" at: http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/6113.html .

Health

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many consultants are employed by NHSScotland, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the number of consultants employed by NHSScotland, broken down by NHS board is available on the National Services Scotland, Information Services Division website at:  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=Consultant_Staff_In_Post_2009.xls&pContentDisposition  Type=attachment .

Historic Buildings

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to assist and support the restoration of Castle Tioram.

Ms Fiona Hyslop: At present there is no application for the restoration of Castle Tioram with Historic Scotland.

  Any scheduled monument consent application would be assessed by Historic Scotland on behalf of Scottish Ministers. As with all such applications, Historic Scotland will provide advice to the applicants, assess the case on its own merits taking into account the relevant legislation, policy and best practice and will give a provisional view to the applicants. If the applicants are not content with this view, they can elect to have the case heard by an independent reporter at a public local inquiry. The reporter’s report would then be sent to Scottish Ministers who will reach a final view without the further involvement of Historic Scotland.The member will know an application for scheduled monument consent for the restoration of Castle Tioram was refused by ministers in 2002 following a public local inquiry.

  Ministers are keen to ensure that this nationally important ancient monument does not deteriorate and Historic Scotland have indicated a willingness to consider grant-aid for any urgent repairs and for improving visitor interpretation without prejudice to the owner’s long-term aspirations.

Housing

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-36449 by Alex Neil on 30 September 2010, for what reason projections of the number of homes to be built for rent or low-cost ownership are not held centrally and whether it will consider its position on holding this information.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government does not hold or publish projections nationally which distinguish between new build and other affordable housing investment programme (AHIP) activity such as rehabilitation or off-the-shelf purchases as projects may change throughout the year. However based on collated management information it is estimated that AHIP will deliver approximately 7,000 affordable (rent and low cost home ownership) completions in 2010-11.

  This may vary to reflect progress on site and it will not be until we report on actual completions that any split between new build and rehabilitation/off-the-shelf and tenures will become clear.

Justice

Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been allocated to the No Knives Better Lives campaign, broken down by (a) year and (b) local authority area.

Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government is committed to spend at least £500,000 on No Knives, Better Lives from April 2009 through to March 2011. Spending in 2009-10 was approximately £200,000 which includes the cost of developing the campaign and piloting it in Inverclyde. Approximately £300,000 has been allocated for 2010-11 to cover the cost of rolling the initiative out to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Clackmannanshire, Renfrewshire, West Dunbartonshire and continuing work in Inverclyde. There is no specific allocation per area as each campaign is tailored to local community needs and builds on work that is already existing. Our investment in each area is then maximised by local partners who are also bringing their time, resources and in-kind support to what are very localised campaigns.

Justice

James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to create an international arbitration centre.

Fergus Ewing: We have been working with Scotland’s legal community and others, and intend to create an International Arbitration Centre in Scotland in partnership with relevant interested parties. On 28 September, I met with representatives of the bodies appointed as Arbitral Referees under the Arbitration (Scotland) Act 2010 to consider a firm proposal for establishing the Centre. Discussions are ongoing.

NHS Staff

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many physiotherapists have been employed by each NHS board in each of the last three years and what the projected numbers are for 2010-11.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the number of physiotherapists employed by each NHS board in each of the last three years is available on the National Services Scotland, Information Services Division (ISD) website at:

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=Allied%20health%20professions%202009.xls&p ContentDispositionType=attachment .Information on projected numbers of physiotherapists for 2010-11 is not centrally held. However, NHS boards published their projected staff in post (whole time equivalent) changes for 2010-11 on 3 June 2010 which can be found at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/06/NHSWorkforce2010.

Prison Service

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service answers parliamentary questions on issues that are the responsibility of ministers.

Kenny MacAskill: I would refer the member to Scottish Government guidance and practice which has been followed since the establishment of the Parliament, and which clearly indicates that questions of an operational nature for a Scottish Executive agency should be referred to the Chief Executive of that agency for reply.

Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 requires groups that include persons over the age of 65 to have at least one member undertake a disclosure check.

Adam Ingram: It cannot be assumed that an adult is unable to protect his or herself in every situation just because they have a specific condition, disability or are of a particular age. It is the receipt of a particular service as defined by the act which confers protected adult status, and the carrying out of regulated work as defined by the act which determines whether or not a person should be a scheme member. Under the PVG Scheme, certain conditions must be satisfied before a person, whether paid or voluntary, is considered to be undertaking regulated work. It is the type of service that the group or organisation is providing, or contracted to provide, to the adult that matters. This means that not every worker who comes into contact with vulnerable groups should be a scheme member. There is no need for blanket-checking of staff, and membership of the scheme must be justified in each case. Any work done in the course of a personal or family relationship for no commercial consideration is specifically excluded from the scope of regulated work.

Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the definition is of a vulnerable adult under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007.

Adam Ingram: The act defines a "protected adult" as an individual aged 16 or over who is provided with a particular service, such as a support service registered under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001, a prescribed medical service, a community care service  or a prescribed welfare service. This is defined at Section 94 of the Act. The use of a service-based definition avoids labelling adults  on the basis of having a specific condition or disability. A person will only be a protected adult for the period during which they are receiving the service. Therefore some people will be protected adults most of the time (e.g. residents in a care home whilst in the care home) whereas others will only be protected for short periods (e.g. while receiving treatment at the dentist).

Roads

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will issue its response to the public local inquiry on the A90 Balmedie-Tipperty dual carriageway.

John Swinney: It is expected that a decision will be issued in the near future.

Rural Development

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the Scotland Rural Development Programme funding  in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09, (c) 2009-10 and (d) to date in 2010-11 was or has been spent on administrative work by (i) the Scottish Government, (ii) Scottish Natural Heritage and (iii) other public bodies.

Richard Lochhead: The Scotland Rural Development Programme budget is entirely spent on supporting rural development; therefore, none of the programme budget is spent on administration.

Rural Development

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the Scotland Rural Development Programme budget is for 2010-11 and what sums have been (a) spent and (b) committed for projects in each Regional Proposal Assessment Committee region, broken down into the various delivery schemes used.

Richard Lochhead: Scottish Government outturn for financial year 2010-11 will be published in the Consolidated Accounts during  2011, following the end of the current financial year.

Shipping

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the future of the Argyll to Ayrshire Timberlink log shipping service.

Richard Lochhead: Forestry Commission Scotland, which manages the funding of Timberlink, is currently reviewing the situation  before making recommendations on future financing. As part of the review process it has commissioned independent studies of the economic and environmental benefits derived from the Timberlink service. Both reports provided a very good indication of not only the positive benefits of Timberlink, but also the level of support that it has from the local communities and tourist industry, as well as the timber sector

  However, I am sure the member will appreciate that I am unable to commit to further resources, until we have a clearer idea of the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Student Finance

Christina McKelvie (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what position it takes on tuition fees.

Michael Russell: We believe that access to higher education should be based on the ability to learn and not the ability to pay. We have firmly ruled out the option of charging tuition fees, a position which has been supported by the Parliament.

Student Finance

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will continue to provide educational maintenance  allowances for college students.

Michael Russell: As we announced in June, increased demand and pressures on public expenditure, and the fact that our budget for 2011-12 is not yet set, require us to review the scheme in December 2010. We will take stock of spend to date and the numbers of young people in receipt of educational maintenance allowance (EMA). This will allow us to consider whether further adjustment to the EMA programme is needed in order to control pressure on the budget. We have no plans to end it.

Wildlife

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, following publication of the report, Making Space for Nature:  A review of England’s Wildlife Sites and Ecological Network , whether it will establish a similar inquiry or review for Scotland and,  if not, how it determines what future work and resources are needed to protect and enhance priority species and habitats in Scotland.

Roseanna Cunningham: We have no plans for an inquiry or review similar to the Lawton review in England. In Scotland, priorities for further work to protect and enhance species and habitats are considered by the working groups of the Scottish Biodiversity Forum  which bring together partners in government, agencies, local government and non-governmental organisations. Resource decisions are made by the Scottish Government, agencies and local government within the relevant budgetary processes.